Capacity 54-Car Field for Motul Petit Le Mans

Photo: Rick Dole/IMSA

Next weekend’s Motul Petit Le Mans will feature a capacity 54-car grid for the final rounds of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup.

Released on Wednesday, the list is comprised of ten GTP class entries, nine LMP2s, eight LMP3 cars, eight GTD Pros and 19 GTDs.

A number of third drivers have been added, per regulations, to the GTP class, with Scott Dixon rejoining the No. 01 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac V-Series.R, Jenson Button in JDC-Miller Motorsports’ Porsche 963 and Josef Newgarden in the No. 7 Team Penske Porsche among the star names along with Helio Castroneves in the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06.

Marco Wittmann and Sheldon van der Linde return to BMW M Team RLL in the Nos. 24 and 25 cars, respectively, while Laurens Vanthoor will be in the No. 6 Penske Porsche and Louis Deletraz aboard another title-contending entry, the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport Acura.

Neel Jani will make his first Petit Le Mans start since winning the race in 2012 and 2013, at the wheel of Proton Competition’s Porsche, while Jack Aitken will be in his final race as third driver in the No. 31 Action Express Racing Cadillac before being promoted to full-time duty in 2024.

Longtime LMP3 racer Ari Balogh is set for his LMP2 debut in Tower Motorsports’ Oreca 07 Gibson alongside Kyffin Simpson and Scott McLaughlin.

John Falb, meanwhile, will be back in the No. 35 TDS Racing Oreca, while AF Corse has entered its LMP2 car for Francois Perrodo, Matthieu Vaxiviere and Emmanuel Collard.

LMP3, in its final outing in WeatherTech Championship competition, sees several to-be-determined lineups, including Joao Barbosa’s co-drivers in the No. 33 Sean Creech Motorsport Ligier JS P320 Nissan and the full lineup for the No. 38 Performance Tech Motorsports Ligier alongside the already confirmed Cameron Shields.

As revealed by Sportscar365, Kevin Estre will complete Pfaff Motorsports’ lineup in the No. 9 Porsche 911 GT3 R in GTD Pro, while David Pittard steps in to join Ross Gunn and Alex Riberas in the No. 23 The Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3.

Simon Mann’s Ferrari 296 GT3 will step up to GTD Pro with the addition of factory drivers Miguel Molina and James Calado, alongside Risi Competizione’s Prancing Horse for Alessandro Pier Guidi, Daniel Serra and Davide Rigon.

Iron Lynx, meanwhile, will have Jordan Pepper, Mirko Bortolotti and Franck Perera at the wheel of its GTD Pro Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2.

The Iron Dames will return in GTD, with its usual lineup of Rahel Frey, Michelle Gatting and Doriane Pin, alongside fellow Endurance Cup-only entries from Triarsi Competizione, Cetilar Racing and Magnus Racing.

Wright Motorsports will be back to a two-car operation with Ryan Hardwick returning to the No. 16 Porsche alongside Zach Robichon and Jan Heylen.

Rolex 24 at Daytona LMP3 class winner Thomas Merrill, meanwhile, will complete Turner Motorsports’ lineup in its No. 97 BMW M4 GT3, a seat previously occupied by John Edwards.

As previously reported, Kellymoss with Riley will focus its efforts on a single Porsche for David Brule, Alec Udell and Julien Andlauer after withdrawing its No. 91 car due to a non-racing injury for Alan Metni.

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John